This is EFTELING! (like Disneyland, but darker)

Efteling, also known as "Dutch Disneyland" is an amusement park based on old European fairytales! (think Brother's Grimm meets Disney!)
We've been to most of the Disney parks (10/12! - California, Florida, Paris, & Tokyo) so we're going to be giving some *very* honest opinions & comparisons on Efteling vs Disneyland!

We had some audio issues while getting to Tilburg and navigating transit. So here is how to get to Efteling by public transit! (Or at least how we did it!)
-We stayed in a nearby town called Tilburg and caught the 300 bus line at the main bus/train station. The bus terminal is just out of the central station - you wont miss it! Just get off at the Efteling stop and follow the crowd! :)

We're Brandi & Alan, full-time travelers and creators since 2018. We post fun vlogs and informative guides to both document our travels and help you on your own journey.

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CHAPTERS

0:00 Intro
0:27 Park Entry & Symbolica
2:05 Diorama & Vogel Rok
3:45 The Flying Dutchman
4:48 FOOD & Pirana
6:01 Max & Moritz
7:33 Fata Morgana (Pirates, but in the Middle East!)
9:12 Spookslot (kinda like the Haunted Mansion? lol)
11:09 Carnival Festival (might as well be Small World)
12:40 Villa Volta (OUR FAVORITE RIDE)
15:00 Drumvlucht
16:34 Sprookjebos (the FAIRYTALE FOREST!)
19:13 Baron 1898 & Joris en de Draak
21:21 The trash cans deserve a shoutout lol
21:48 Efteling vs Disney (our comparison)
24:02 Thanks for watching! Subscribe for more adventures! :D

[joepke]

Fun fact: the Efteling is actually a foundation! It is not focussed at all on making money, whereas Disney is. For example, the Villa Pardoes that is coupled to the efteling (near Joris en de Draak) is a vacation house for disabled kids. They can go there for free and get the care they need, while they can also enjoy a holiday with their parents. This is why from al theme parks I visited, I enjoy Efteling the most because the money I spend there doesn't end up in the pockets of stakeholders.

[keanoverhagen]

FIRST TIP: NEVER COMPARE IT TO DINSNEY

[albertlay]

Efteling is not the Dutch Disneyland. Disneyland is the American Efteling. Walt Disney got the idea and inspiration for Disneyland from the Efteling. He has visited the Efteling in the 50's to take a look.

[britneyshropshire]

The reason you can’t really compare it to Disneyland also is because a lot of the fairytales that walt himself used for the Disney classic movies are the ones that are written by European folklore writers such as brothers Grimm. Most dutch people have been brought up with the darker sides of the fairy tales and they differ a lot from the fairy tales Americans are used to, bc walt knew it would sell better if you soften the storyline. I myself have a dutch mom and an American dad so I got the best of both worlds growing up. I can honestly say I love both versions of the fairytales and the magic. Have been to both Disneyland and Efteling, and I can enjoy them both just as much in their separate ways!

[ageoflove]

If you really insist on comparing: I think the individual rides at Disney are "better", as in longer with more going on. However I think the overal park experience at the Efteling, including all the small flat rides is much better. The Efteling has a lot more spacious design so the crowds spread out more, there is a lot more green, more places to just hang and chill. Also The Efteling is a lot less hardcore commercial experience. Prices for entrance, food and drink etc are all very reasonable. Also you are allowed to bring your own picnic if you want.

The park is run by its own foundation, so no big corporation behind it trying to extract value and they are in full artistic control and all the money they make gets invested right back in to the park. I choose a day in The Efteling over a day in Disneyland, no questions asked. The experience is just so much more relaxing and you dont get that constant feeling you are getting manipulated in to spending as much as possible all the time.

[ycrep]

This house, this cursed house ... Hell hath found its equal. That one cursed evening in the Belgian Campine ... The sun was low and we sought beds for the night but found no trace of villages. But suddenly, in the distance ... a great building. The Postel Abbey, we knew. We brought the horses to gallop, and when the sun set, we arrived at the chapel.

There was light behind the windows and it was deathly quiet. No monks chanting or pious mutterings. Behind the chapel door, gold cups and silver candlesticks for the taking, hahaha! With this in mind we rammed the door! No one .... The altar sparkled with its spoils. The candles were lit ... strange. My men cracked open the offertory box, and I myself emptied the altar.

And then, suddenly, a slender hand appeared on my shoulder. I looked around, and behind me stood a young woman, her eyes ablaze. All saw her, and the clinking of gold and silver ceased. She seemed ... to float in her long white dress. For a moment I felt something like fear, and she spoke to me: "You, Hugo van den Loonsche Duynen, thou desecrate here this house. So repent, and seek not to call the Lord's wrath upon you ....'

But I, I overcame my fear, dismissed her with scornful laughter and shoved her away roughly. I called for the men to leave and saw that she dissolved into nothing ... A day later, I reached my house. I was shocked; atop the facade stood...SHE! The lady from the chapel!

​Her arms waved as if swaying in the wind. I heard her voice, as if it were floating in my head: "Nowhere in your own home, nor anywhere in the world shall thou find rest or peace, now that thou hath violated God's house ... only when a noble person with the clean conscience of a new born child will enter your dwelling, shall thou find peace in your home and in your heart ...

That curse, my gruesome fate, so far has not been broken ... Enter with a pure soul, so that the doom may fall from this house, and my soul can acquire the rest, which I so greatly desire

-Dames en heren, let u op! De deuren openen in uw richting. Ladies and gentleman, please stand back. The doors will open in your direction.-

[ILLYCUP]

Efteling was opened in 1951, and the first Disney park was opened 1955. Efteling makes more stories with sage and legends around their attractions. Like Vila Volta and the goat riders, flying dutch men, joris and his dragon, Baron with the wise women, and on and on

[anjadeboer]

Efteling opened in 1952 which possibly makes it the oldest themepark in the world and unique in its old world theme. Yes, I have been to Disney as well but apart from the rollercasters there is no comparison. Still, it was nice to see it through your eyes.

[ideploeg]

This is the only place in Netherlands where you do not have to take your kidz or grandchildren as an excuse to visit and feel yourself a ‘child’ again. Fun and amusement guaranteed. Disclaimer: Just a happy dude! :))

[kimberlyboomaars]

Allways fun to see people enjoy the Efteling for the first time. You did a lot for a first day. The only big things that I missed was Aquanura the big fountain show that starts 15 minutes after the park closes and Ravelijn parkshow with horses that happens multiple times a day.

The Efteling opened 31 may 1952 and is older than any Disneypark. Walt Disney could have visited the Efteling but there is no proof of that. At that time the Efteling was no bigger than a playground and the Fairytale forest with only 10 fairytales (but with animatronics). Some rides in the Efteling took inspiration from Disney. And a lot of Imagineers from Disney have visited the Efteling in the past.

The age of buildings in the Efteling is deceiving. Everything in the Efteling is made to look like it’s been there for years. That is the design aesthetic from the first lead designer “Anton Pieck”. Landscaping is a must for the Efteling. They bring back nature where they can. There is a rule that the Efteling is bound to that only 11% of the park can be build up. That also makes the Efteling special. If you walk through the fairytale forest you can see birds and squirrels that are not really scared of humans.

Yes, I’m a local girl and I visit the Efteling a lot.

[deadbucket]

On Carnaval Festival the ride didn't break down, they stop the ride so people in wheelchairs can take their time to sit down =)

[joswonderland]

As a dutch fan with an efteling year pass, it's honestly better than Disney for me😅 although Disney has some incredible technical advancements and a way larger budget to do awesome stuff, the Efteling just has much more "gezelligheid"(as the Dutch would say), and just feels so much more human and less artificial. I definitely appreciate you for checking this park out, but it's really its own standalone park and shouldn't be compared with anything :D

[naomimanders]

Hi! Glad you enjoyed spending the day at Efteling! I love it when people from abroad visit Efteling for the first time! Please don't call it Dutch Disneyland though. Don't get me wrong, I love Disney too, but Efteling was there first ;). It's my favourite themepark in the world and there's really nothing you can compare it to. What makes Efteling so fun besides the attractions is the nostalgia and also the history behind the whole park. How it started out small and grew into the biggest themepark of the Netherlands! Maybe next time you should book a stay in Bosrijk or Loonsche Land if you want to take your time and see and do everything, cause the Efteling really has become a two day park in recent years 💫

[ncoppens]

I am 47 and my grandparents lived pretty close to the Efteling, so we went every year as a kid. In the beginning the Fairytale Forest was about all there was. You forgot to listen to the mushrooms. The mushrooms next to the roads play music if you put your ear against it. I used to be mesmerized as a toddler by those.

[ciaolisanne]

So weird to see all those familiar rides and not hear the music that is especially composed for it 😅

[sjoerdderks]

Its better than any Disney park, its less crowded, original and cheaper compared to disney ( big bugets require high cost)

[plancovideos]

You have not been stuck in carnival festival. They stop the track so that people in wheelchairs can get in and out quietly.

[StephenandAndie]

I've only been to Disney World once (enjoyed it!) and never to Disneyland (despite decades as an L.A. resident), so I'm not the biggest expert/fan - but THIS place looks more interesting to me! Maybe it's the "darker" aspect. The forest looks really cool! Also - love that photo @4:48! 🤣

[chrisvanderveeken]

I'm glad you enjoyed it. It is indeed not Disneyland, you can't compare. Disney has almost unlimited funds and Efteling really has to do it all on its own. Yet Theme Park Insider named it the best park in 2017 and 2018. It doesn't have the fastes, highest or loudest rides, but it is the overall feel of the park that does it for me. It has a lot of history. You either get it, or you don't, and that is perfectly cool. Dutch people tend to get upset, and maybe even snobbish when you don't just fall to your knees and say that it's better than Disney, because the park is really a part of many Dutch peoples childhood, so they feel like you've hurt them an a personal level!

And you really, really should have gone on Piranha, that is the best ride ever!

Take care! Love, Chris.

[eftelamy]

Please, just don't compare Efteling with Disney. It's completly different. Nice video and I hope you had a great day!